The first thing you need to know is that this application’s name is an acronym; Gpg4win can be “expanded” into GNU Privacy Guard for Windows (more about this further down). Moving on, the second thing you need to know is that GNU Privacy Guard for Windows is security software – and more to the point, security software that uses encryption and digital signatures to help you securely transfer emails. And last but not least, the third thing you need to know is that Gpg4win is free and open source software.

The setup wizard allows you to select where Gpg4win links will be created: in the Start Menu, on your desktop, in the Quick Launch bar. Once it’s done installing Gpg4win on your Windows PC, the setup wizard will invite you to check out a Read Me file.

As mentioned at the start, Gpg4win can be “expanded” into GNU Privacy Guard for Windows. Here are some additional explanations on this topic.

Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) is a data encryption and decryption computer program. It is used to sign, encrypt, and decrypt texts, e-mails, files, directories, and whole disk partitions; it is also used to increase the security of email communications. GNU Privacy Guard (GnuPG or GPG) is a GPL-licensed alternative to the aforementioned PGP suite. And Gpg4win is the official GnuPG distribution for Windows - that's why Gpg4win can be “expanded” into GNU Privacy Guard for Windows.

Gpg4win is maintained by the developers of GnuPG. Once you get Gpg4win up and running on your Windows-powered PC, you can use it for file and email encryption purposes.

The Gpg4win security software uses encryption and digital signatures to help you securely transfer emails.

Pros The Gpg4win setup wizard provides support for multiple languages. You get to choose what components will be installed. Gpg4win is the official GnuPG distribution for Windows; it is maintained by the developers of GnuPG. Use Gpg4win for file and email encryption purposes. Gpg4win is free and open source.